China’s Blockchain Policy Development Reportedly Concentrates on Three Cities

Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou have reportedly become the most concentrated areas when it comes to China’s blockchain legislation and policy according to finance publication Securities Daily. The Chinese publication reached this conclusion after conducting research about Blockchain policies introduced into the country in recent years. It found that China had 32 Blockchain protocols in the country. Eleven of these projects focus on three major areas including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

Chinese Authorities Have Banned Cryptocurrencies but Acknowledged the Potential of Blockchain Technology

China has implemented a split policy when it comes to blockchain and digital currencies, praising and adopting the former but banning the later. China’s President, Xi Jinping publicly declared blockchain a technological priority while banning virtual currencies. In November, the Ministry of Industry and Information in China published a document calling for the need to facilitate the development of standard applications of Blockchain across industries in the country.

Additionally, a new blockchain alliance was formed last month in China. This initiative involved 54 different companies and was established in Guangzhou designed to promote and develop blockchain tech across the country.

Strick Policy Against Crypto Currency and Related Projects

The Chinese authorities continue to censor projects or materials related to digital assets. Before the book Mastering Bitcoin by Andreas Antonopoulos appeared on Chinese state-operated TV station, it’s title had to be changed to suit the standards set by the government. It became Blockchain: the Road to the Digitization of Assets and didn’t reference crypto or BTC.

Meanwhile, the PBOC (People’s Bank of China) the country’s Central Bank had warned against digital assets calling them bubbles in investments and financing. Days ago The Beijing Municipal Bureau of Financial Works had to remind citizens that STOs (security token offerings) were illegal in their jurisdiction.

Gemini Includes Bitcoin Cash Trading on ABC Network

Crypto exchange Gemini recently announced that it would support Bitcoin Cash (BCH) trading and custody today. The startup made this known via a post on its Medium blog. Gemini is a United States based exchange that was founded by the Winklevoss brothers in 2015. The exchange indicated that, at this moment, it would “be providing support for only the Bitcoin ABC network.” The ABC network will be identified as “Bitcoin Cash with the ticker: BCH.”

Gemini has declared that they “will continue to evaluate Bitcoin SV in coming weeks or months. After which they may or may not decide to support withdrawals or trading of Bitcoin SV.” In a bid to ensure legal compliance Gemini reportedly worked with the NYDFS (New York State Department of Financial Services) to get approval to offer BCH trading and custody on its platform.

We can recall that in October, Gemini received regulatory approval to add Litecoin (LTC) as one of the tokens for trading on its platform. Eric Winer, Gemini’s vice president of engineering, noted that his company thoroughgoing “financial services compliance and fiduciary obligations” with oversight from the NYDFS. He stated that Litecoin (LTC) trading support came due to the close cooperation of the company with regulators. Adding that the exchange is taking a security-first approach to adopt new digital assets.